Help came the way of Mrs Doowuese Mathias, 26, a few days ago as she got N100,000 lifeline to quit soliciting for alms near the government house roundabout in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
Married in 2014, the mother of five girls aged between five and 18 months respectively, out of desperation to feed them, had regularly for about two years now strategically positioned herself at the turn leading to the government house to attract sympathy for her children.
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Though a passerby seeing the children might conclude that they are a set of quadruplets, the mother revealed that they weren’t except for the thin spacing between them.
“I got married six years ago and now I’m blessed with five kids. All girls. The first, Mimidoo is five, followed by two sets of twins; Nwuese and Mnena three years old and; Ngunan and Ngunfan one year and six months old.
“My husband is unemployed and we don’t have what it takes to put food on the table for our children that’s why I stay with them at the corner of the Government House. I believed that those in power will one day see my plight as they pass by and render us help,” Doowuese said.
She further explained that life became difficult for them shortly after their marriage when they were displaced from their village in Guma Local Government Area of the state.
Before the displacement, she said she and the husband were farmers who survived on their soybeans, rice and yam farming among others.
She added, “We had to relocate to North Bank in Makurdi and since then we lost our livelihood. That’s why I have to put a bowl of oranges in front of me to sell but most times, people just dash me money instead of buying the oranges.
Doowuese, however, expressed joy that at last fortune had smiled on her as the member representing Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency, Benjamin Mzondu, after reading the story posted on the social media about her plight came to her rescue with the sum of N100,000 to help her start a business.
Mzondu, rendered the assistance to the woman who hails from his constituency and also promised to raise the money to N200,000 which was the amount she requested to enable her to leave the street.
The lawmaker staggered the donation to ensure she utilised the N100,000 judiciously before releasing the other N100,000 for the business.
To this end, Ukan Krugh, a humanitarian who brought the woman’s situation to limelight on Facebook and also took delivery of the first tranche of the money donated has handed the family to a non-governmental organisation, Community Links, for proper handling.
The Executive Director of Community Links, Dr Helen Teghtegh, who took charge of the distressed family, said there was the need to financially orientate the woman and her husband to enable them judiciously use the money.
“We have to make sure they don’t return to the road because it is disastrous. That idea put the children at risks. We will interact with her (woman) and agree on what she will do with the money for sustainability, then we will monitor it for growth.
“We will also help them (wife and husband) to acquire skills. They will also be taught how to manage petty cash to be accountable for whatever is given to them because that’s the condition by the donor to give more support,” she explained.
Teghtegh has already engaged the services of a family planner, Ese Pheelz Iduku, who spoke extensively to the couple on the benefits of family planning, though the husband earlier opposed the idea of family planning, saying it was against God’s will.
He was said to have however concurred after the lecture and assured of reverting to the family planning idea after they (he and his wife) have thought about it and chosen a plan.
Speaking to our correspondent, the father of the twins, Matthias Utume, 33, a native of Uvii in Guma LGA said he only possessed a secondary education certificate and would like to further his education.
Utume who applauded the donor, Krugh and Teghtegh for their efforts in alleviating his household poverty, disclosed that before help came the way of his wife, she made between N1,500 and N4,500 daily by staying near the government house.
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